Gary Pinkel and Mizzou Football Put Team First

October 25, 2013

To be a member of the Mizzou football family, you must not only be committed to being a great player, but you must also be an extraordinary teammate as well. You must be accountable to every single one of your teammates, your brothers.

At Mizzou, everything we do is a collective effort. Every triumph and every shortcoming. There is no division in wins and losses. We win as a team and we lose as a team. No single person is to blame for a loss and no individual is to be credited solely for a win. We achieve together and we fail together, but in the end, we are always a team, a unit, a family.

We are One Mizzou.

At Mizzou, a good team player:

1. Gives 100 percent 100 percent of the time

2. Shows courage on and off the field

3. Makes no mental mistakes

4. Cares about the team above all else

5. Demonstrates loyalty to all

6. Is academically responsible for himself and his teammates

7. Has a great work ethic for the team

8. Has a positive attitude; he is an encourager, not a discourager

9. Is unselfish because he knows that the team is greater than the sum of its parts

10. Is totally committed to every aspect of the program and everything we do

Mizzou’s three-headed backfield of Henry Josey, Marcus Murphy and Russell Hansbrough is a prime example of the Tigers’ team-first philosophy. All three running backs have at least 40 carries, 350 yards and three touchdowns. No single player is the star, but no one needs to be. They don’t care about how many touches they get or how many times their number is called inside the red zone. All they care about is winning, and that’s the way Mizzou has always been.

Just ask former Mizzou running back De’Vion Moore. In 2010, he shared the backfield with Josey and Kendial Lawrence. Each one of them had more than 70 carries and 400 yards. All three guys averaged 5.2 yards per carry or better, but not one of them had 100 carries. Moore led the bunch with eight touchdowns, but Josey and Lawrence reached the end zone five and four times, respectively. The time-share approach isn’t new for the Tigers, and neither is winning, because at Mizzou, the team comes first, and victory follows as a result.

Here’s what Moore said when asked about the depth chart in 2010.

“None of us are the tailback. We’re a unit. Every single, last one of us has to contribute. We have in our mind that we need to help each other get as many victories as possible. As far as being that guy or that tailback, it’s not even a question in this program.”